


Unicorn

by sterling_schreibt



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Dubious Consent, F/M, Fantasy, Knights - Freeform, Medieval, unicorn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-03-31 00:39:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19038832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sterling_schreibt/pseuds/sterling_schreibt
Summary: After returning victoriously from a vicious campaign in His name, a knight is haunted by the memories of holy warfare, especially after having taken with him a mysterious gift.





	1. Arrival

The walls around his enclosed castle were shiny from the heavy rain, the black cobblestone glistening like onyxes, polished pearls stacked and cemented to create an impenetrable fortress.  
When he returned from his voyages, his holy duty fulfilled, his treasures and horses in tow, he was welcomed back like the king he had become. His conscience though remained heavy.  
The cross around his neck was a weight, pulling his body until his knees touched the marbled floor in his chapel, forced him to bend and near break, his sins seared deeply into his flesh.

He had brought the creature home, he had brought her because his mistakes had made what could not be undone, and here they were, two vessels so corrupted after travelling for so long, he did not know whether or not they were beyond saving.

The creature was to be stored in a cage, which then was draped in tarpaulin. The few curious eyes suspected a wild animal, or maybe big carved pieces of furniture, statues that were to be protected from sun and rain. The carts were pulled into the inner yard by large brown and black horses, the goods stored away, the food brought to the kitchen and basement. It was a solemn affair, with their sole master in a dark mood. He had his two strongest guards lift the cage up and carry it up into the tower, then ordered them to leave him be until he called for them.

Richard was trembling as he approached the tarp, underneath which he heard soft cooing. As he peeked, his thrumming blood near deafening, the creature slowly looked up. It looked wary, weary, yet its physical form seemed immaculate, as if the journey had done nothing to its body.

"I shall open the cage," Rick sternly announced, gesturing to the iron bolts, "and I shall let you leave it. You will stay in this room, and you will not attempt to escape. To do so will result in severe punishment."

It didn't understand him, but it looked at his sword, at his gesticulating hands, his frown. A soft purr escaped the creature and when Richard lifted the bolts and heaved the bars aside, but it wouldn't budge. It stared at him with big eyes, making itself smaller in the corner farthest away from him. With a sigh, he stepped back, raising his empty hands.

"I won't harm you."

The creature huffed, ears pressed flat against its head, and Rick shook his head, walking backwards until he had reached the heavy door. It was too late and he was too tired to argue or grab it - yet as soon as he had locked it in, the being started to gingerly move towards the opening, never taking his eyes off him. He regarded it through the door's barred window until it finally stood, staring around at the foreign objects, the small cot, a table with a chair, a half-full water bucket...

With a chirp, it floated towards the window, slender hands pressed against the stone frame as it stared at the setting sun, its eyes wide, which Rick couldn't see. He was about to leave when he saw the creature's shoulders sag and it turned to face the ground, slightly shaking. It carefully gathered the hay from the floor and started making a little nest on top of the cot, making soft noises as it worked. 

Rick, mesmerized, couldn't tear his gaze from the creature, knuckles white as he clung to the bars, his eyes hungrily taking in every little movement and sound. As it settled, curling up around itself to appear as small as possible, he finally stepped back, watching as it fell asleep.

There was nothing to be done about it, he thought grimly, a icy panic filling his stomach as the saw the visible rounding of the being's abdomen. He would have to atone for what he had done.


	2. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richard struggles with the aftermath of his sins.

Bathed and fed, he thought he could escape the road he'd travelled, back behind the walls and gates that protected him from wilderness and all evil. He was a man of God, he firmly thought, on his cold knees as he prayed to the cross above his bed. The moonlit chamber seemed full of crawling shadows, twitching and dancing around the single flame from a candle on his desk. Lanky fingers grasping at the cloth around his ankles, as of yet too weak to pull him with them. As long as he prayed, Richard was certain, they would not be able to take him.

The heaviness did not let up on him when he hid under the blankets, smelling his own stale sweat each time he started from his restlessness, big eyes burning into his own with a lack of understanding, a helpless and naive expression until he did what he felt compelled to do and she understood, she understood in her feral mind just what he was about to do and she didn't resist.

Why didn't she resist him? She had enough instinct in her to assess the situation, surely...

"No!"

He yelled his stubbornness into the humid summer air, fists clenched as spittle flew from his mouth. His teeth were bared in a pearly snarl, his face red and his hair unruly and matted. Fatigue lured him back into abrupt slumber, and he found himself in its suffocating embrace.

There he stood, in the middle of a black forest, the trees and bushes imposing and giant, the moss underneath his bare feet cool and dry. It pulsed with each step he took, and the branches nestled and wove together into an impenetrable wall behind him, allowing him to only march forward.

The pulse increased, heavy thrumming in unison with his heartbeat. Between his toes, cold slimy tar bubbled up, soon coating his feet, and the faster he tried to run, the quicker he sank, until he stood waist-deep in the icy sludge. Above him, blinding moonlight was casting an ominous silhouette on him, that of a great beast about to leap, and it did with a horrible screech; Rick saw glinting talons and soon they'd be digging like spears into his chest-

The cold stone floor welcomed him as his eyes cast open, the warm copper taste of blood a familiar one as he shakily freed himself from the wet sheets around his waist. In his panic, he had twisted himself further and further into a trap by his own design, only to fall from his bed and painfully be awoken.

The rosy sky announced dawn as Richard, aching and tired, trodded over to one of the many windows and pushed it open. The first birds' morning song pierced his ears like needles, but he was glad to be awake again.


End file.
